Beluga Liner
The Beluga Liner is a ship manufactured by Saud Kruger.Elite Dangerous patch 2.2 - aliens, space stations & more Gamescom 2016, 2016-08-17 Comparable to an Imperial Cutter in mass and even bulkier in volume, the Beluga is a ponderous cruise liner designed to carry passengers to their destination in luxurious comfort. Only the Beluga and its smaller cousins the Orca and the Dolphin can be equipped with Luxury Passenger Cabin modules, allowing them to transport high-paying VIP passengers. Overview The third in the Saud Kruger line after the Dolphin and Orca, the Beluga Liner is the Passenger equivalent of the Type-9, sacrificing the huge cargo hold to carry luxury VIPs. It is designed to accommodate even more passengers in luxury and comfort than an Orca, but this specialization comes at the cost of speed and maneuverability. The result is a slow, cumbersome ship that is difficult to fit through a station's Access Corridor; deploying the landing gear folds the ship's bulky rear fins down, making it easier to traverse. To compensate, the Beluga features a Class 7 Frame Shift Drive and a 128-tonne Fuel Tank that gives it an impressive travel range for long-distance cruises. The Beluga can also fit a Fighter Hangar to bolster its modest offensive capability, though it is in no way optimized or recommended for extensive combat. The Beluga Liner performs poorly in Combat. While the ship does boast better hardpoints and maneuverability than the Type-9, the hardpoints are positioned in a way that does not allow them good coverage areas or firing arcs, making it difficult to keep even turreted mounts on targets. The biggest downside is the shield generator and hull mass, which make the Beluga very easy to take down with even moderate fire. Combined with its colossal size making it a ridiculously large target the Beluga is often easy pickings for many ships, and even a Fighter Hanger only helps so much. As a cargo ship, the Beluga has 368t of potential space. This is fairly poor for a large ship, only beating the Type-7 Transporter by 60 tonnes. The Beluga is capable of doing cargo runs but the price puts it in range of the Type-9 Heavy; which completely overshadows it all together. The Beluga Liner makes for an interesting option as an Exploration vessel. With proper Engineering and a Guardian Frame Shift Drive Booster, its jump range tops out at 40-50 ly depending on what other modules it is carrying, but there are cheaper, less unwieldy ships to choose from that can achieve higher jump ranges. What makes the Beluga a decent contender as an explorer is its internal space and ability to equip a Fighter Hangar, it can carry every essential exploration module, a number of non-essential ones, and still have room for modules that have less usefulness out in the black, such as Cargo Racks. Not to be overlooked is the Beluga's open cockpit layout, which provides a wide, unobstructed view. As a dedicated, high-capacity passenger liner the Beluga Liner suffers from a number of shortcomings that restrict its ability to adequately serve other roles. The Beluga cannot hold a Shield Generator larger than Class 6, making it the only ship unable to fit a shield generator that is optimized for its mass. The Beluga also has issues with heat management, which can exceed safe levels during and immediately after a Hyperspace jump due the heat build-up from the charging FSD; this can be partially mitigated by installing a higher-rated Power Plant, but the added mass will hinder the ship's jump range. It also has a worse jump range than the Orca, only marginally better combat potential, and a frustratingly large size that complicates docking. The Beluga is unsurpassed in its capacity for bulk VIP passenger missions, but with its various flaws, the Beluga is in essence cripplingly over-specialized. Purchase Locations Outfitting All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Beluga Liner. *''(L) = Loaned Module'' *''x# = Capacity'' *''(H) = Requires Elite Dangerous: Horizons, reserved solely for Planetary Approach Suite'' Notes *Purchasing the Beluga Liner requires owning Elite Dangerous: Horizons.Official FAQ *''Elite Dangerous: Beyond'' Chapter Four removed restrictions from the restricted module slots on the Beluga Liner, Dolphin and Orca. This allows them to equip modules other than Passenger Cabins in those slots.Frontier Forums: Beyond - Chapter Four - Beta 1, post #191 Trivia *The Beluga Liner is the largest pilotable ship in Elite Dangerous, larger than even the Imperial Cutter. Videos File:Stellar_Vision_-_Elite_Dangerous_Beluga_Liner File:Via_Lactea File:The Beluga Liner Elite Dangerous Gallery Beluga Liner.jpg|Beluga Liner Beluga-Liner.jpg|Concept of the Beluga Liner File:17204x1827.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:17203x1624.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:17199x1635.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:17250x9741.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:17309x5406.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:17285x1987.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:17201x1221.jpg |From v2.2 beta File:Beluga_Liner_right_side_of_cockpit.jpg |The right side of the cockpit of a Beluga Liner (from v2.2 beta) File:Beluga_Liner_right_rear_view_of_cockpit.jpg |The rear right hand side of the cockpit of a Beluga Liner (from v2.2 beta) Screenshot_0103.jpg|Beluga Liner landing Screenshot_0071.jpg|Beluga Liner Beluga Liner at station.jpg|Beluga Liner at station bp-beluga.png|Saud Kruger Beluga Liner Blueprint Beluga-Liner-Official-Art.png|Beluga Liner official art ED-Beluga-Liner-Cockpit.png|Beluga Liner cockpit view Beluga-Liner-Cockpit-Black-hole.png|Beluga Liner cockpit and black hole Beluga-Liner-Planetary-Ring.png|Beluga Liner and a planetary ring system Beluga-Liner-Planet.png|Beluga Liner and a planet Beluga-Liner-and-Jaques-Station.png|Beluga Liner and Jaques station Beluga-Saud-Kruger-Mathew-Maddison.png|Beluga Liner - Saud Kruger art References ru:Beluga Liner Category:Saud Kruger Category:Passenger Liners